A computational framework for risk-based power systems operations under uncertainty. Part I: Theory

•Definition of an operating risk in the context of power system operations.•Framework for power system operations based on this operating risk.•Three-stage method for estimation of the operating risk.•Discussion on the computational aspects of the method.

With larger penetrations of wind power, the uncertainty increases in power systems operations. The wind power forecast errors must be accounted for by adapting existing operating tools or designing new ones. A switch from the deterministic framework used today to a probabilistic one has been advocated. This two-part paper presents a framework for risk-based operations of power systems. This framework builds on the operating risk defined as the probability of the system to be outside the stable operation domain, given probabilistic forecasts for the uncertainty (load and wind power generation levels) and outage rates of chosen elements of the system (generators and transmission lines). This operating risk can be seen as a probabilistic formulation of the N − 1 criterion. The stable operation domain is defined by voltage-stability limits, small-signal stability limits, thermal stability limits and other operating limits. In Part I of the paper, a previous method for estimating the operating risk is extended by using a new model for the joint distribution of the uncertainty. This new model allows for a decrease in computation time of the method, which allows for the use of later and more up-to-date forecasts. In Part II, the accuracy and the computation requirements of the method using this new model will be analyzed and compared to the previously used model for the uncertainty. The method developed in this paper is able to tackle the two challenges associated with risk-based real-time operations: accurately estimating very low operating risks and doing so in a very limited amount of time.